A doctor from Oakland Township has been arrested by federal authorities and charged for his alleged role in a $35 million Medicare fraud scheme, officials announced Tuesday.

Patients of Dr. Farid Fata with questions about their medical records or seeking information about the investigation and prosecution can call the U.S. Attorney's Office Information Line at 888-702-0553.

Fata, 48, is accused of submitting fraudulent claims to Medicare for services that were medically unnecessary, as well as falsifying documents and directing others to do the same. In one instance, he is accused of forcing a patient who fell and hit his head to undergo chemotherapy before receiving medical treatment for the head injury, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. The patient later died from the head injury.

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Fata owns and operates Michigan Hematology Oncology Centers (MHO), which billed Medicare for approximately $35 million over a two-year period, according to a release from the office of U.S. District Attorney Barbara McQuade.

Fata's attorney, Christopher Andreoff, said he has "received nothing but protestations of innocence" from Fata.

"He's told me at this point in time he's done nothing improper," Andreoff said.

"These are general allegations of a criminal complaint. There's no specificity of patients who were misdiagnosed or mistreated ... and until it's shown otherwise, I think the government is premature in bringing these charges."

Authorities believe Fata issued the fraudulent claims for medically unnecessary services, "including chemotherapy treatments, Positron Emission Tomograph scans and a variety of cancer and hematology treatments for patients who did not need them," the release states.

"The complaint further alleges that Dr. Fata directed the administration of unnecessary chemotherapy to patients in remission; deliberate misdiagnosis of patients as having cancer to justify unnecessary cancer treatment; administration of chemotherapy to end-of-life patients who will not benefit from the treatment; deliberate misdiagnosis of patients without cancer to justify unnecessary hematology treatments; fabrication of other diagnoses such as anemia and fatigue to justify unnecessary hematology treatments; and distribution of controlled substances to patients without medical necessity."

Fata is also accused of forcing patients to undergo chemotherapy before going to the hospital for other serious medical conditions that required immediate treatment.

"In one instance, a male patient fell down and hit his head when he came to MHO," the release states.

"Dr. Fata insisted that the patient receive his chemotherapy before he could be taken to the emergency room. The patient later died from his head injury.

"In the second instance, a patient came to MHO with extremely low sodium levels, which can be fatal. Dr. Fata again directed that the patient first receive chemotherapy before being taken to the emergency room. MHO administered the chemotherapy and the patient was (then) taken to the emergency room and hospitalized."

Fata appeared in federal court on Tuesday, where the court entered an order of temporary detention instead of setting a bond, Andreoff said.

The case will be in court again at 1 p.m. Thursday to determine whether a bond should be set.

Andreoff also said that investigators did not obtain any independent experts to review the statements made by employees and determine whether the proper care was administered.

"I have a major problem with the case," Andreoff said. He said those who provided statements to federal agents "may or may not be disgruntled employees."

"Our first priority is patient care," McQuade stated in the release.

"The agents and attorneys acted with great attention to detail to stop these allegedly dangerous practices as quickly as possible, and we have set up a victim hotline so that patients can access their files and get questions answered."